Which GPU is my PC / MSP 13 using? I seem to see two...

Sorry, this is an ultra-newb question...

I seem to have two graphics cards on my PC. One, I see under my Windows 7 Control Panel : it is the NVidia Geoforce GTX 670M.

The other, I see when I run the PC tuneup utility CCleaner. When I launch it, under my system specs, it says "Intel HD Graphics 4000"

Uhm ... why do I have two? And which is my video editor using by default?

In Sony Movie Studio Platinum 13, under Video preferences, there is the "GPU acceleration of video processing" drop-down list. It has three options: each of those two GPUs, and "None". Which of the two should I use?

Are there any other respects in which the GPU choice impacts MSP 13's performance? Is there some other setting I need to adjust to tell MSP 13 which to use? Am I thinking too much? Help a brother out please

Hi lingyai

Your Nvidia GTX 670M is a dedicated traditional Graphics Card and the one you would normally use with a Video Editing program.
This is the one you should turn on in Options/Preferences/Video/GPU Acceleration and then re-boot Movie Studio to accept the change.
Your Graphics Card will help to:
1. Play back video in the Preview Window
2. Process/accelerate many Video FX
3. Process plugins like New Blue Titler
4. Assist is some rendering of video

Since 2011, Intel started selling integrated Graphics Cards with their CPUs, called Intel HD Graphics.
Inside your CPU (central processing unit) is a GPU (graphics processing unit) as well.
Many basic laptops no longer use dedicated graphics cards anymore, but instead rely on the integrated Intel GPU to process your graphics.

In Movie Studio Platinum 13, you may be able to use Intel HD Graphics to accelerate rendering of Sony AVC profiles and find it is much faster than using your GPU.
Go to Make Movie/Save to Hard Drive/Advanced
Select Sony AVC/MVC - Internet 1080p, then press Customize
Open Encode Mode at bottom and select Intel Quick Sync
This setting means Intel HD Graphics will be used to render your video.
I don't have this on my own computer, so I am not sure if you have to turn the Intel HD Graphics on in the Preference settings first or if it will just work anyway.

Setting GPU Acceleration to NONE, turns off all Graphics Cards and forces your CPU to do all the processing.

Regards
Derek

Thank you so much! You are the patron saint for newbies!